NCATE Information
NCATE Information
The National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) was founded in 1954. It is the profession’s mechanism to help establish high quality teacher preparation. Through the process of professional accreditation of schools, colleges and departments of education, NCATE works to make a difference in the quality of teaching and teacher preparation today, tomorrow, and for the next century. NCATE’s performance-based system of accreditation fosters competent classroom teachers and other educators who work to improve the education of all P-12 students. NCATE believes every student deserves a caring, competent, and highly qualified teacher.
Penn State's teacher education programs have been NCATE accredited since January 1, 1965. To earn this accreditation, faculty and staff must demonstrate that programs meet professional standards for excellence. Faculty and staff engage ongoing evaluation of programs, reporting on those programs to respective specialized professional agencies (SPAs) including: American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD), Association for Childhood Education International (ACEI), Association for Education Communications and Technology (AECT), Council for Exceptional Children (CEC), Holmes Partnership, International Reading Association (IRA), Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (INTASC), International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE), Intentional Technology Education Association/Council on Technology Teacher Education (ITEA/CTTE), National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), National Association of School Psychologists (NASP), National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS), National Council of Teachers of Social Studies (NCSS), National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE), National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM), and the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA).
The next NCATE Board of Examiners site visit will be Spring 2012. Further information about this visit will be posted at this site.
